Apparatus for cleaning articles



G. W. SCHWEINSBERG AND M. I. DOYLE.

APPARATUS FOR CLEANING ARTICLES.

APPLICATION HLED JULY 16,1919.

Patented July 11, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

ATTORNEYS e. .w. SCHWEINSBERG AND M. I. DOYLE.

APPARATUS FOR CLEANING ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FlLED JULY 16, 1919- Patented July 11, 1922,

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

N @E \x tree srrasd an 1m GEORGE W. SCHWEINSBERG AND MASON I. DOYLE, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNORS TO U. S. ELECTROGALVANIZING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.

APPARATUS FOR CLEANING ARTICLES.

Application filed July 16, 1919. Serial No. 311,157.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that we,

GEORGE W.

ScHwEINsBERG and MASON I. DOYLE, citizens of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Cleaning Articles, of which the following is a specification. I a

' This invention relates'to the treatment of material in successive fluids and particularly to apparatus for moving masses of material such as small metal articles throrugh a series of liquids to clean or otherwise treat them. The object of the invention is to provide apparatus wherein the movement of the material through the tanks is accomplished automatically so that it is only necessary to feed the material in at one end and receive, it at the other completely treated.

A further object of the invention is.to

provide draining means for the material to drain it thoroughly from the liquid of one treatment before it reaches the next succeeding tank.

' A further object of the invention'is to provide means for varying the relative durations of the dipping and draining actions so that the apparatus may be readily accommodated to different sizes and kinds of articles.

A further object of the invention is to provide treating means which will dip the material into a tankfor a definite length of time and then-certainly remove it so that, as is particularly desirable with a bright or nitric acid dip, 'the duration of the action of the liquid is surely restricted within safe limits. v a

A further object of the invention isto provide a fin'al drying means which mixes the articles with dry saw-dust in 'a continuous and automatic manner.

In the accompanying drawings showing an embodiment of the invention, a Fig. 1 is a partial longitudinal side vie with parts in section of an apparatus constructed in accordance with this invention; Fig. 1 is a continuation to the right of 1 Fig. 1;

Fig. 2 is a view of a detail;

71. cessively along a central horizontal shaft 13 rotatably supported in end bearings and Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 3-3 of 4, 5and 6 are rotatably supported in position to dip into successive tanks 7, '8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 which, for purposes of illustration, may be considered to contain successively an alkali solution for cleaning the articles, water for washing off the alkali, nitric acid or bright dip for brightening the articles,

and water for washing off the nitric acid, an alkali for neutralizing the acid and. a final water wash, after which the material is drained in cylinder 7 O and dried in the dryer The drum containers are spaced succarried on cross members 14. between side beams 15 and 16supported by legs 17 from the floor.

The heads of the drum containers are connected to thisshaft and are also'supported from'the side members 15 and 16- by cradle bearings 20, 21 and 22 under flange projections from the heads of barrels2, 4 and 6, respectively, the cradle bearings being carried by cross members 23, 24 and 25 between the side members. The forward head of each drum-has a central opening 29 and is attached to the shaft;13 by spokes 30 and hub 31 ofiset, as indicated, from the central entrance 0 ening of the head to permit free access '-of t e articles to the drums. \Vithin the. drums the articles are supported in the liquid in the tanks and in the drums the articles are progressed therethrough by spiral ribsor projections 32 and 33, the spiral. 32 being narrower at the entrance end of drum 1. as shown, to accommodate the interig. 4 is a sectional view on dine 4.4 oi; Fig. 1;

2 quent thicker or deeper portions of the spiral Between the drums 'are the connecting draining and conveying means comprlsmg means for lifting the material out of the' liquid in each prior tank and draining it and transferring it to the next succeeding drum or out of the machine. In each of the drums this draining and discharge means comprises a guideway or,fin 35 extending from the periphery of the drum and receiving the material therefrom and guiding and discharging it onto the inclined surfaces of the central conical member 36 which discharges into 'the connecting passageway in the form of a cylinder 37, 39 or70 leading to the next drum or discharging from the machine. The guideway or fin 35 has its plane at an angle to the axis of longitudinal shaft 10 so that as it lifts the material: from the liquid it tends to.feed it backward and discharge it .from the drum before the guideway 35 passes beyond the uppermost vertical osition. The fin, the central member, an the cylinder are referably made of permeable material to drain ofi the liquid fromthe articles. The guideway 35 and the'conical member 36 are formed integral and fastened to' the rear head of the drum. The connecting passageways or cylinders 37 39, 70 rotate in the same direction as the drums and are provided with spiral fins or webs 38 positively feeding the work from one drum into the next or out of the machine.

The cylinders or draining chambers 37 of drums 1 and 4 are rigidly fastened to the drum heads to rotate therewith, but the chambers 39 and 70 following the drums 2 and 6 are independently rotatable and provided with separate driving means so that their speeds may be the same as, or greater or less than, that of drums 2 and'3. This independent rotation of the draining chamber permits the duration of the draining action to be varied independently of the speed of rotation of the main dipping drums. so that for different materials difi'erent draining periods may be allowed. For instance, solid,

round objects,'such as balls, requires much less time to drain than elongated hollow arti-- cles, such as cartridges. 1 The draining chamber 39 between drums 2 and 3 is formed by end rings 40 and 41 rotatably mounted on flanges 42 and 43 of drums 2 and 3, respectively, and carries centrally gears 45 by which it is driven. This gear may be connected as shown by spokes 46 with the hub 47 rotatable on the shaft.10. Between the rings 40 and 41 extend the grid rods 49 forming a permeable periphery for the chamber to drain and discharge the liquid. The gear 45 is driven by a pinion or chain in turn driven by a variable speed mechanism at a velocity independent of'the rotation of the maindriving means for the dippin drums which comprises a gear 51 forme on the head of drum 4 and driven from a pinion in brackets on the supporting frame members. Similarly the draining c linder is independently driven bygear It is obvious that the separate drives of gears 45 and 75 may be omitted and their drum cylinders fastened to the main member to rotate'therewith.

The drum 3 and tank 9 are shown adapted topro vide for an accurately timed dippingof the material into the liquid of the tank and a positive removal of all the material after each dipping. Such action is particularly adapted for use in connection with nitric acid or bright dips used to impart a brilliant appearance to brass articles particularly after they have been cleaned as by an alkali solution in tank 7 and washed by water as in tank 8. The tank 9 is provided with a separate container 55 adapted-to resist the action of nitric acid and the drum 3 is provided with a broad guideway'or 'fin member 57 extending completely across the periphery of the drum so that at each rotation it removes all of the material and discharges it directly into the central conical member 36. and out through the discharge ring 58 directly into the wash drum 4. Fur-' ther draining is omitted bec use it would leave the metal in contact with the full strength of the acid solution, the'irregular and spotted action of which would injure the rotatable on shaft 13 and provided with a gear segment 64 engaged by the pinion 65.,

turned by an adjusting handle 66 so that the position of the discharging edge 6743f the pocket may be varied with respe'ct,.to the guideway or in '57. In this way the duration of the-dip offthe materialin the liquid is adjustable, for longer periods the edge 67 being moved away .from the guideway 57, and for shorter periods being moved closer thereto .Toconfine all the material to a path through the basket a bafile plate 68 is provided to partly cover the opening from the cylinder 37 and retain the material therein until the basket is in proper position to receive it. The baflle plate 68 is segmental in form fitting snugly over the end of cylinder 37 and is fastened to the basket with its radial edges coinciding substantially with the front and rear edges of the basket. At its corners 69 it is attached to the pocket and is provided with a slot 70 to clear spoke 30 in extreme adjustment. As the drum 3 rotates all material discharged from the chamberv37 will be received and retained by the pocket 60 until its discharge edge reaches the lower portion of its circular movement and all of the material will be dropped into the 'liquid at substantially the same instant. The guide way or fin 57 following the edge 67 at the definite time interval thenlifts all the material out of the liquid," drains it and discharges it onto the wash drum 4. The material is, therefore all dipped and removed within substantially the same time'interval .and is surely protected against excessive action of the acid and against irregular action thereof such as would take place were a longer 'period of draining used before the is discharged into the washing to difi'erent positions to vary the time the articles remain immersed in the fluid of the V dip. The articles are dumped into the fluid means such as Within this casing is the drum lflfl comp'risfrom the pocket or basket 91 fastened to the head 81 and a plate 92 having an opening with edges 93 and 95 retain the articles from discharging from the preceding transfer cylinder except when the pocket 91 is in position to receive them. The 7 articles are dropped all'together from the edge 94 of the pocket 91 into the fluid or bright dip and are picked up by the edge '90 of the adjustable scoop 88.

After the'bright or acid dip the articles are again washed in water in tank 40 in alkali in tankv 11 and again in water in tank 12. The articles are then drained in the independently rotatable cylinder 'and dried in the dryer 71'. This dryer comprises an outside casing. 99 provided with;.heatin'g gas burners in its lower part.

ing end heads fastened to theshaft 13, an outside peripheral cylinder 101 and an inner cylinder 102.

The operation of the machine from start having means for tumblin This inner, cylinder is made permeable to sawdust so that the latter will to finish is continuous and at the same time the articles are accurately dipped in the acid bath for a relatively brief period. Both before this acid dip and before the final drying the draining means is adjustable in its action so that it can be varied to different kinds of articles! Throughout the machine the feeding is positive and the material is not lifted to unnecessary height nor dropped great distances so as to be damaged." It is obvious that variations of the specific mechanism may be resorted to and that the principle of the invention is not confined to the apparatus shown.

We claim 1. In a-machine for treat-ing material by liquids in successive tanks, the combination with a unitary rotary member comprising a plurality of containers adapted-to tumble and advance the material in contact with the liquids in the tanks in succession, of rotatable draining mechanism intermediate between and connecting said containers and p and advancing the material from one container into the next and draining the liquid back into each pre vceding tank from the articles.

2.111 a machine for treating material by liquids in successive tanks, the combination with a unitary rotary member comprising a plurality of containers adapted to tumble and advance the material in contact with the liquids in the tanks in succession, of rotatable draining mechanism intermediate between and connecting said containers and having means for tumbling and continuously advacing the material from one container into the next and. draining the liquid back into each preceding tank from the articles. 3- In a machine for treating'material by liquids in successive tanks, the combination with a unitary rotary member dipping into the liquid in said tanks and adapted to tumble and advance the material through said tanks in succession, of rotatable draining mechanism intermediate betweem and connecting said containers and having means for lifting the material from the liquids and tu mbling-and advancing it'from one containercinto the next and draining the liquid back into each preceding tank from the articles.

at v

4. 'In a machine for treating material by liquids in successive tanks, the combination with a rotatable container adapted to tumble and advance the material in contact with the liquid, of an independently rotatable draining means receiving the material from said container arid tumbling it and draining the material therefrom.

5. In a'machine for treating material by liquids in successive tanks, the combination with a rotatable container adapted to tumble and advance the material incontact with the liquid, of an independently rotatable drain- 7. In a machine for treatlng mate'rial by liquid, the combination with a container rotating at constant velocity, of means for intermittently feeding material into said container comprising means for uniformly feeding the material an intermittently operating pocket for col ecting the material and discharging it into the container, and means for discharging material from said container in timed relation to said feed so that the material only remains in said container a certain length of time.

8. In a machine for treating material by liquid, the combination with a container rotating at constant velocity, of means for intermittently feeding material into said container comprising means for uniformly feeding the material, an adjustably operating pocket for collecting the material and 'dischargingit into the container, and means for discharging material from said container in timed relation to said feed so that the material only remains in said container a certain length of time.

9. In a machine for treating material by liquid, the combination with a container rotating at constant velocity, of means for intermittently feeding material into said container comprising means for uniformly feeding the material, an adjustable discharge edge for collecting the material and discharging it into .the container, and means for discharging material from said container in timed relation to said feed so that the niaterial. only remains in said container a certain length of time.

GEORGE W. s'cHWEINsBERG. MASON I. DOYLE. a 

